A 13-year-old girl told Human Rights Watch: For two weeks in January 2009, I worked in the diamond fields together with several other children to carry sacks of diamond ore from the field and to fetch water to sieve the ore. I was too afraid to run away. Every day, I would carry ore and only rest for short periods when the men were digging. We always started work very early in the morning before eight and finished when it was dark after six. All I want now is to go back to school.120 A 15-year-old boy added: Sometimes, when we get hungry and tired, we walk slowly because the bags of ore are heavy to carry. But the soldiers tell us to be fast. Sometimes, soldiers would beat us for working slowly so we always tried to be fast.121 A 15-year-old girl told Human Rights Watch that the work in the diamond fields was hard, and soldiers provided no food or water to everyone working on the fields. On one occasion, she said, five young girls collapsed after working for more than five hours in the sun while the soldiers refused to give them a break.122 Another 15-year-old boy said he quit school in 2006 and worked in the fields as part of a police syndicate before soldiers forced him to join their syndicate in December 2008.123 A teacher at a local school in Marange told Human Rights Watch: Soldiers force everyone to work for them in the diamond fields, including teachers and pupils. I was forced to work in the diamond fields together with other teachers and pupils from my school for a week in February 2009. The soldiers compiled a duty roster of all teachers and some pupils and they force us to take turns to work in the fields in accordance with their roster. However, even before soldiers began to force everyone to work for them, schools had long stopped functioning due to the economic crisis, and 120 Human Rights Watch interview with girl A.B., Marange, February 22, 2009. 121 Human Rights Watch interview with boy O.B., Marange, February 22, 2009. 122 Human Rights Watch interview with girl B.C., Marange, February 21, 2009. 123 Human Rights Watch interview with girl B.M., Marange, February 22, 2009. Diamonds in the Rough 40